
Mark Cancian (Colonel, USMCR, ret.) is a senior adviser with the CSIS International Security Program. He joined CSIS in April 2015 from the Office of Management and Budget, where he spent more than seven years as chief of the Force Structure and Investment Division, working on issues such as Department of Defense budget strategy, war funding, and procurement programs, as well as nuclear weapons development and nonproliferation activities in the Department of Energy. Previously, he worked on force structure and acquisition issues in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and ran research and executive programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In the military, Colonel Cancian spent over three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps, active and reserve, serving as an infantry, artillery, and civil affairs officer and on overseas tours in Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq (twice). Since 2000, he has been an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he teaches a course on the connection between policy and analysis. A prolific author, he has published over 40 articles on military operations, acquisition, budgets, and strategy and received numerous writing awards. He graduated with high honors (magna cum laude) from Harvard College and with highest honors (Baker scholar) from Harvard Business School.
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Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images
The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan
CSIS wargamed a Chinese invasion of Taiwan 24 times and found that Taiwan would endure as a democratic and independent entity in most scenarios. However, the costs were enormous. Victory is not enough. The United States needs to strengthen deterrence to avoid war.
Report by Mark F. Cancian Matthew Cancian and Eric Heginbotham — January 9, 2023
In the News
Why Ukraine hasn't been using its dozens of powerful US Abrams tanks
Mark F. Cancian in Business Insider — November 23, 2023
Image shows Israeli tanks in Gaza, no evidence they're 'destroyed' | Fact check
Mark F. Cancian in USA Today — November 17, 2023
How to get the $106B supplemental moving: Avoid the all-or-nothing trap
Mark F. Cancian in Breaking Defense — November 8, 2023
What's the difference between a "pause" and a "cease-fire" in the Israel-Hamas war?
Mark F. Cancian in CBS — November 8, 2023
Ukraine launches criminal investigation into its own military after Russian strikes killed 19 soldiers at an open-air awards ceremony near the frontline
Mark F. Cancian in Business Insider — November 8, 2023
Rare Admission About U.S. Submarine Sparks Question About Nuclear Weapons
Mark F. Cancian in Newsweek — November 6, 2023
The desperate situation at the Gaza-Egypt border
Mark F. Cancian in CBS — November 2, 2023
Weapons for Ukraine are boosting local economies across the country. Should we send more?
Mark F. Cancian in USA Today — October 30, 2023
All Mark F. Cancian Content
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Inside DOD’s FY 2025 Budget
“Can the United States Equip Israel while Simultaneously Equipping Ukraine and Taiwan?”: Audio Brief with Mark Cancian
Podcast Episode by Mark F. Cancian — October 16, 2023

Can the United States Equip Israel while Simultaneously Equipping Ukraine and Taiwan?
Critical Questions by Mark F. Cancian — October 12, 2023
Transatlantic Defense during Wartime
Report by Cynthia Cook Max Bergmann Mark F. Cancian Gregory Sanders Sissy Martinez Otto Svendsen and Nicholas Velazquez — September 5, 2023
“Reforming the Pentagon's Budgeting System”: Audio Brief with Mark Cancian
Podcast Episode by Mark F. Cancian — September 1, 2023

Reforming the Pentagon's Budgeting System: Can DOD and Congress Strike a Deal?
Critical Questions by Mark F. Cancian — August 22, 2023
“A New Mechanism for an Old Policy”: Audio Brief with Mark Cancian
Podcast Episode by Mark F. Cancian — August 16, 2023

Aid to Ukraine: The Administration Requests More Money and Faces Political Battles Ahead
Critical Questions by Mark F. Cancian — August 15, 2023
A New Mechanism for an Old Policy: The United States Uses Drawdown Authority to Support Taiwan
Critical Questions by Mark F. Cancian and Bonny Lin — August 2, 2023
Cluster Munitions: What Are They, and Why Is the United States Sending Them to Ukraine?
Critical Questions by Mark F. Cancian — July 10, 2023